Microsoft is bringing out its Starter Edition to developed countries for the first time with Windows 7, but it has been around since 2004 when Microsoft released Windows XP Starter Edition for consumers in developing nations.

"People talk about XP Starter Edition in a derogatory manner," said Mike Wickstrand, the Group Product Manager for Windows XP Starter Edition in 2004. "They say it's crippled, or insert your favorite word. You have to look at it like this. We've done the research. We know the unique needs of these people. We've tested instrumented versions of Windows XP Starter Edition that were distributed during the beta. We have incredible data on how these people actually use the PCs. There are factual and logical inconsistencies in the reports I've read that are not backed up by any research at all. They cannot justify the position they've taken. I've spoken to those who came out strong against the product. There is no research."

With Windows XP Starter Edition, Microsoft started to address a glaring problem that had become apparent: low cost computers were starting to become a reality, and could run most programs that people wanted to use, such as word processing, email, and websurfing. However, the cost of the operating system could be as high as 25 percent of the whole computer system.